Starting at age 49 and quite a bit.

I am looking at starting a new adventure and my choice is to start training for a triathlon.
Any hints, tips or comments on madness would be appreciated. I will be starting from scratch (can ride a bike) (can run walk 30 min with lots of puff).

Have no running group as I live in a country town, I am quite happy to self motivate.

start slowly, increase slowly, take your time, madness is a useful ingredient should you wish to venture onto the dark side and living in the country should make that easy.
Disclaimer, I am much older than you, and did not start running until I was in my 50's

Good on you Fitforlife, I hope you enjoy your new adventure.
If you are after some training guides I can highly recommend the book "Training Plans for Multisport Athletes" by Gale Bernhardt.
This contains good training advice for all distances from sprint to Ironman in an easy to understand format.
By the way, madness probably isn't necessary, but it sure helps along the way
Good luck!

Hi Fitforlife,

Like Suzy, I'd recommend Gale Bernhardt but my suggestion would be her book "Triathlon Training Basics". It has training plans for Sprint and Olympic distance events with Beginner and Intermediate options. The beginner level olympic distance plan got me successfully through my triathlon in my late 40s and starting from very low fitness base.

slowmo

Well done on getting into it. Have fun and good luck with the trainning

Yeah, I agree with Finny...and welcome to coolrunning!

F4L, welcome to CR and tris.

Don't be too concerned about your age. My mother did her first triathlon at 57 and went on to do well over 50 races over the next 15 or so years, including races of up to Half Ironman distance.

The best advice I can give you swimming is to organise some stroke correction tuition. You will improve much more quickly with a sound technique and you will not be learning bad habits which will be more difficult to 'untrain' further down the track. Have a chat to staff at your local pool and I'm sure they will point you in the right direction.

As for cycling, time in the saddle is the only way to become more comfortable and stronger on the bike. Also, if you ride with better riders you will also improve much more quickly. If there is a masters/vets cycling club in your town it may be worth having a chat to them. Make friends with your local bike shop. Tell them what your aims are and they will help point you in the right direction, as well as ensuring you have your bike set up correctly.

Running? Well, it is remotely possible some people on CR just might have some opinions on that.

I took up running at 52, enjoying it greatly and heading for my first marathon in September on my 55th birthday. My advice would be to build up slowly and enjoy it. Older bods can be trained too, it just takes a bit more care.

F4L
Age is not a barrier! I took up running at age 50, more or less by accident. I ran my first marathon at about age 53 and my most recent one, about number 30 or so, in Canbera this year at age 70. Certainly you won't win many races outright but you will have a lot of fun, and the fitness training is good for both physical and mental health, as is the number of new friends you will make.
Most races have age categories, so you will still get plenty of competitive stimulus.
The situation is very similar in cycling, in swimming and in triathlon. Many of the regular posters here compete in the above disciplines so keep in contact and post your progress here so we can all help you celebrate your triumphs and commiserate in the inevitable setbacks.
Welcome to CR.

Regards,

How I envy you! I am a little older than you but my PBs are from long ago. You have all your PBs to look forward to - what a bonus. My Dad started running at 60 (he said insanity is hereditary, you get it from your kids) and this year will be his 22nd Sydney City to Surf. He picked up an State Age Title in the Half a while ago. Yep, starting a little later has its own real bonuses.

Which country town, or even just region? There are CRs scattered all over.

Welcome, and enjoy.

Welcome.
As everyone here has said, start slowly, be kind to your body and ask heaps of questions.
Triathlons are addictive, even to us very new beginners. If you happen to be female there is an excellent triathlon happening in Sydney in September aimed at beginners.
Its called Triathlon Pink, has 4 distances from 100m swims up to 300mt swims so a distance for everyone.

As have others, I started running at 50 (or thereabouts)...so long ago now, it's hard to remember! I have always trained on my own & never had a problem with motivation. I will be 80 in September of this year & still happily & snappily running (or, I pretend I am!). It's all about attitude!

Sure, it takes some time to get used to the fact that you can't run as fast as you used to 10 or 20 years ago, but that's never a reason to say "I'm too old" & give up. The age-category system has a lot to offer us older people in staying motivated to record personal bests in our age group at each 5 year mark & by training wisely we can race well compared to others in our age category. Don't look back!

Since starting to run almost 30 years ago, I completed my first (of 9) marathons at age 70 & have run one each year since then, including 2 ultra marathons & lots & lots of half marathons & fun runs. Along the way I managed 2 age category Australian Records & a couple on the track for ACTVAC, Canberra.

Paul Every mentions his mother in his post! I have to say here Brenda was always one of my fiercest rivals back in the 'good ole days'. She always beat me, but, along with a few other women of the same vintage (Thelma Davies, Marie Donaldson to mention a few), she motivated me sufficiently until the day came when I actually passed her in the City-to-Surf Race! I forget which year it was, but that's one way you can keep yourself motivated at any age. Take a crack at anyone up ahead in a race who looks like he/she might be in your age group! I usually look for the ones with grey to white hair!

Apart from all that, I think we more mature runners age much slower than others; we can still be motivated, feel & look good at any age! I believe firmly it's never too late to turn running, swimming, cycling, walking or whatever, into your heyday of youth! LL

Hey maybe we are twins I'm also 49 and quite a bit and have just started doing very short distance Triathlon and duathlons.

Its actually duathlon season now so why not have a go at one of these whilst you are working on your swimming skills.
By doing a Duathlon you can work on your transition skills! My first one was hilarious! I walked up and down the bike rack trying to rememeber where my spot was on the bike rack. So a good sense of humor or madness will help.

Go for it, fitforlife!

I took up triathlon when I was 45, and did my first Ironman when I was 47. I have never looked back, but rather can't wait now for each triathlon season to roll round. In the off-season, I run marathons.

If there is a triathlon club near you, look them up. Even if you can't attend every race, get to know some of the people and listen to everything they say. A new triathlete should be a sponge - absorbing every bit of information you can (you can sort the useful stuff later).

Meanwhile, keep chipping away at the fitness, as when you do triathlon for fun, it doesn't matter how quick you finish.

Meanwhile, try this site for starters - plenty of inspirational stories from beginners of all ages and abilities.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Muz

Wow so much good advise from everyone! I agree triathalons are fun and addictive and good on you for setting that goal to do one. I agree, some stroke correction if you arnt a strong swimmer is a great idea. I think the idea of doing a dualthlon is a good one as once you have been through a transition you know how they work. On the other end of the scale my 7 year old begged me to do a triathalon this year (probably after years of watching me do tris, marathons and halfs!) He ended up doing 3 in the season - if he can you can too! Stay positive and have fun!!

Luckylegs

Lovely to see you're back.

Terrific to see you still can't run out of sight on a dark night.

OMG so much inspiration, kind words and good advice from so many people.

Thank you thank you thank you. I am off to do some book hunting.

I was excited before now I am itching to get it happening (small steps of course).

This forum is going to be a great help I think.

"...focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."

hi fit4life, welcome to CR.
good on you for making the decision to get fit and get into tri's - you'll start feeling better for training soon and you'll be amazed at how quickly you improve.

have a flick through some triathlon magazines in the newsagent, they often have results for each age group in the half ironman and ironman. it's so inspiring to read of people in their 60's and 70's doing ironman - and pulling off some impressive times too!

build distance slowly, and listen to your body as you go - you're in this for the long haul ... goodluck, and keep us informed of your progress toward your first tri.

Hey Fit4Life, best wishes and I hope you succeed. Also a late starter I did my first ‘fun’ run in 2005 age 48. Have just completed my 3rd marathon, and while BOTP am happy to say that in most events since ’05, (including today’s SMH half) am still getting PB’s each year.

I aspire to be like LuckyLegs and still running in another 30 years (what a champion & she’s pretty nifty on the PC as well, something my old girl who’s younger, cant handle).

In the beginning the hardest thing to acquire was the exercise habit & fit that into a life that’s already v busy. Now I routinely survey the coming week on Sundays and plan the exercise program before everything else, then make sure I follow through.

I read an interview with Craig Mottram some time ago who said that he believes it takes 4-5 years to really build up your fitness and I have found this very encouraging. Certainly today I felt fitter, stronger and more consistent then with any other half so far. Sometimes the journey has been a ‘2 steps forward, one step back’ process. Good luck.